It's clear that the Red Sox are going to have a very difficult time succeeding this year if they can't figure out how to perform better against the AL East. What I'm curious about is why the Sox are having such a difficult time beating the other AL East teams. Last year the Sox won at a .539 clip against the AL East and a .593 clip against everyone else. This year, the Red Sox are absolutely floundering against the AL East to the tune of .300 ball but are scalding the rest of baseball with a .655 percentage.
Obviously the AL East is an incredibly strong division this year, perhaps historically good. But that doesn't explain the difference, as the other AL East teams (except the Yankees) aren't crushing non-AL East teams like the Sox are. The Yankees are winning against non-AL-East teams at a .694 clip, but that's not so different from their overall record. Tampa, Toronto, and Baltimore are all playing in the mid .500's against non-AL East teams (.537/.576/.545 respectively).
If Tampa and Toronto were really that much better than the Red Sox you'd expect them to be beating the other teams at a better rate than the Red Sox.
It's not because of the teams the Red Sox have played either. They've had plenty of series against the competitive teams in other divisons -- the Twins, Guardians, Astros, Mariners, Cardinals, and Braves. The only good team that they haven't yet faced is the Brewers.
Tampa has played 6 series against non-AL East contenders, Baltimore has played 7, Toronto has played 7, New York has played 5, and Boston has played 7. It's not a strength of schedule issue.
Anyone have any good theories as to what is going on here? Injuries clearly have played a roll in the most recent stretch of futility vs the AL East, but the Roster was healthy at the start of the season and still struggled against AL East competition.
Obviously the AL East is an incredibly strong division this year, perhaps historically good. But that doesn't explain the difference, as the other AL East teams (except the Yankees) aren't crushing non-AL East teams like the Sox are. The Yankees are winning against non-AL-East teams at a .694 clip, but that's not so different from their overall record. Tampa, Toronto, and Baltimore are all playing in the mid .500's against non-AL East teams (.537/.576/.545 respectively).
If Tampa and Toronto were really that much better than the Red Sox you'd expect them to be beating the other teams at a better rate than the Red Sox.
It's not because of the teams the Red Sox have played either. They've had plenty of series against the competitive teams in other divisons -- the Twins, Guardians, Astros, Mariners, Cardinals, and Braves. The only good team that they haven't yet faced is the Brewers.
Tampa has played 6 series against non-AL East contenders, Baltimore has played 7, Toronto has played 7, New York has played 5, and Boston has played 7. It's not a strength of schedule issue.
Anyone have any good theories as to what is going on here? Injuries clearly have played a roll in the most recent stretch of futility vs the AL East, but the Roster was healthy at the start of the season and still struggled against AL East competition.